


Must Have Been the Wind

by Deceitfullyanxioussss



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alec Benjamin is such a good artist to write song fics too, Also what's a good writing schedule?, And 3 litres of hot chocolate, And a bunch of cheese, Based off of Must Have Been the Wind by Alec Benjamin, Human AU, I guess if you want they could become lovers off screen but, I have so many ideas already like wtheck, Janus has some issues and he refuses to open up until the end, M/M, One Shot, Prime Writing Hours is at 6 am, Remus is a persistent and caring idiot, Remus is so difficult to write ughhh, Song fic, Tbh im rlly proud of this lmao, Whatever's happening to Janus is up to you ;), strangers to friends?, that's up to you, they live in apartments, with no sleep, yeeee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:54:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24891922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deceitfullyanxioussss/pseuds/Deceitfullyanxioussss
Summary: Remus goes back to his apartment and wants a nap after a bad day at work.Instead, he finds he is kept up by some very troubling sounds coming from the room above his.Remus decides he wants to help this stranger.
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders
Comments: 19
Kudos: 68





	Must Have Been the Wind

**Author's Note:**

> Cursing, and uh, Remus being Remus ig?  
> Proof read by Queroze on Tumblr

Remus let out a huff of breath, feeling his tense muscles relax as he practically melded into the couch. The plan was for him to catch a nice nap after his exhausting day at work.

He was a barista at a coffee shop, which usually wasn’t too bad. He liked his job. Often, he even found it relaxing.

However, there can be days that are just the exact opposite of relaxing.

It seemed as though every customer he came across that day woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Oh, and don’t even get him started on the Karens. The Karens were nearly impossible to deal with.

A frown slipped on his face, recounting the worst part of his day. There was a very verbal homophobe who came in today.

Remus was very openly gay and always wore a pride pin on his apron next to his name. He had the unfortunate luck of having to take, and make his order. He probably had to stand there for a full 5 minutes, just listening to his lecture about how wrong gay sex is. Remus was able to shut him up by reminding him of the line behind him.

It didn’t end there though.

A lesbian couple walked in not long later, hand in hand. It didn’t take long for it to catch the attention of this man, who immediately jumped at the chance to pull another 500 slide PowerPoint out of his ass.

The rest of his co-workers decided that he had to be ushered out of the shop. Nothing about getting him to leave was easy though, not in the slightest. He went out yelling and cursing the whole way.

The two girls were very lovely though, they had a nice conversation about the upcoming pride event, and he was more than happy to give them both free refills on him. 

So he guessed the day wasn’t all bad, but it still seemed to drag him out as if he was dough under a roller, crunching off of his bones into powder and flattening all his veins against his skin.

_ Yes, a nap seems like a good idea. _

__ Remus’s eyes fluttered closed, fatigue quickly overtaking his body.

Just then, a sharp, yet muffled noise cut through the serenity of silence.

Some barely-conscious part of his mind gained interest in this sound.

_ What was that? It kind of sounded like glass. _ It had murmured through its TV static atmosphere.

The rest of his mind, nearly completely asleep, wordlessly communicated that it was probably nothing, and he should just focus on sleeping.

That seemed to calm his brain enough to settle down.

There was a little sliver of his mind that wasn’t quite ready to let go of the sound yet, though. It kept listening, even if undetected by the rest of the brain. It seemed right to do so, as muffled sounds of yelling and sobbing registered through its cloudy state.

It was then Remus blearily pried his eyelids open and sat up.

_ The fuck?  _ Remus groaned internally, forcing his body into an acceptable sitting position. Confusion stuck onto his brain like wrinkled cling wrap as he tried to make any sense of the hazy world around him.

A loud thud was heard from the floor above, followed by an emotionally drained cry.

Remus grunted and rubbed his eyes in exhaustion.

For maybe just a split second, his heart felt sympathy for the person, but he was just so tired. It’s not like it was his problem, right? He could just ignore it and go back to sleep.

He flipped over on his side so his head faced the back of his sickly green couch and closed his eyes, trying his best to draw his attention away from the sounds upstairs.

He must have laid there for a good while, trying and failing to push the sounds to the back of his head, his anxiety amping up little by little the longer the crying persisted.

Eventually, Remus let out a loud, guttural sigh and stood up swiftly. He couldn’t just ignore them, he had to help.

Making the decision, he walked towards his coat-rack and hastily tossed his jacket over his shoulders, bee-lining to the elevator.

He silently curses the elevator for being so slow as he restlessly waited for the doors to push open, and when they do he wasted no time getting in and selecting floor 2.

Remus usually enjoyed the tacky elevator music, but he found it only served to tick him off this time around. The music seemed to drag time out even slower and he was already so, so restless.

_ Ding. _

__ With that, he stepped out and eagerly trodded down the hallways, stopping in front of the desired location. He raised a hand and knocked on the door with little hesitation, the anxious tapping of his foot echoed within the empty halls.

Remus listened with rapt attention through the door, hearing as the person inside scrambled to make themself look even the slightest bit presentable.

He waited impatiently, his gaze anxiously wandering around for some sort of distraction or stimulation. They landed on the grossly patterned navy blue carpet, look completed by the numerous stains that have accumulated over the years. Finding little interest there, he moved onto the walls. The dim, sparse lighting made the colour look like a shit brown. Impulsively, he reached to run his fingers along the many indents that found a home among the distasteful brown. The tactile stimulation instantly captured his focus, and he let the rough surface soothe him.

Remus, too caught up in the stimulation, had forgotten his original purpose of being there. He startled back to reality upon hearing the soft click from the door. He immediately snapped his head back up, being met with a pair of mismatched eyes and a scarred face. This person was looking up at him with what he thought was supposed to be a confident expression. The effect was dampened by his pink-ish eyes, mussed hair, and the pastel yellow sweater he had hooked all the way up to his chin.

Remus gave the other a small wave, just then realizing he had no game plan. Did he just… ask? Did he make small talk first? Should he invite him to his coffee shop for a drink and talk there?

The other reciprocated the wave, smirking. “How may I help you, sir?” He asked politely

Remus cleared his throat, deciding he should just be direct with this conversation. He was never really good at softening his approach anyway.

“Hey, so, basically I heard something shatter and a lot of crying and yelling and I was kinda concerned about it, so I came to ask if you were ok.”

The two men stared at each other for a few seconds before Remus spoke up again. “So, are you ok?”

He heard the other snicker quietly, a gloved hand waving as if to dismiss the question. “Oh, my. That’s ridiculous. Your ears must be playing tricks on you, my dear.”

__ Remus took notice of how he subtly buried his face deeper into the sweater.

__ His attention was brought back up as the scarred man spoke again.

“Thank you for caring, sir, it’s very kind of you, but I have some urgent work to get back to. I wish I could tell you about the noise, but I'm afraid I didn’t hear a thing.” He shook his head. “Perhaps it was merely a harsh gust of wind.” He suggested.

Remus let out a quiet sigh, but nodded and accepted the answer.

The two waved each other farewell as Remus trudged back to the elevator.

Remus had been laying down, back pressed hard against the cold concrete of the floor. The chill from beneath seeped in through his spine and into his chest, weighing him down heavily. He just couldn’t stop thinking about his upstairs neighbor.

It had been hours since his last visit already, and the man upstairs was still pacing across his apartment, occasionally he would stop and silence would follow. The pacing always started back up though. 

Absent-mindedly, his hands fiddled with the necklace around his neck, running his fingers across the cool, smooth metal.

He just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, and he wanted to help.

Remus knew that he didn’t have all the facts, and he didn’t really want to intrude on the man’s life. There was a possibility that nothing was wrong, and he  _ was _ just imagining things. He didn’t want to pester his neighbor with his stupid, false worries.

_ But what if something is wrong? _ _ You saw his puffy eyes. You know you heard those sounds.  _ His mind kept telling him.  _ You can’t just leave him alone, can you? _

__

Remus nodded to himself and for the second time that day, stood and made his way back to the other’s door. More hesitantly this time, he knocked. His raps were slow and unsure as he swayed nervously from side-to-side.

He heard the pacing stop, and he waited, his focus on nothing but his shoes this time around. Then he heard footsteps approach the door and he looked up just as the door swung open.

He was met with the same mismatched eyes, messy hair, and sweater. He didn't forget to take note of the new eye bags and odor he’s sporting with him though.

“Oh, it’s you again.” the nervousness of his neighbor's voice managed to carry through despite the fabric covering his mouth.

Remus ran a hand through his hair and looked to the side. “Yeah.” he chuckled unsurely.

“I just- I’m still worried,” he said, smile falling. “I know you said you were fine, but… I just felt the need to check again. It’s- those sounds- they’re not leaving me alone.” he tentatively looked up into the other’s eyes. “Are- Are you sure you’re ok?”

__ Remus is pretty sure he saw the scarred side of his face twitch, probably in annoyance he’s sure. He knew it was a bad idea to come back up. He was always such a bother, even to his own family. What made him think a stranger would appreciate seeing his face twice in one day?

“Yes.” the answer cut through Remus’s thoughts and redirected his attention. “I am absolutely positive that everything’s fine.” There was a hint of irritation that Remus desperately wished he didn’t hear.

“Once again, thank you for caring, it’s very kind. Truly. But I really do have some urgent work to get back to. I wish I could help you with the noise, but I didn’t hear a thing. In fact, I’m almost certain it was just the wind. You need to stop worrying so much over such a trivial thing.”

Remus’s body became hot with shame as he shrunk in on himself. He nodded at the man before he sluggishly made his way back.

The following morning, he didn’t even bother with breakfast. Immediately going over to slouch on his couch, he stared back up at the ceiling. It seemed to be a new favourite hobby of his apparently.

He had a lot of time to think about the previous night, about his last interaction with the man upstairs.

**** There was no way those sounds were from his imagination. He was in a groggy state when he heard the yelling, sure, but surely the pacing wasn't something his ears made up. Surely, the messy hair and puffy eyes weren't something his eyes made up.

His mind carefully brought up the idea of confronting him again, but he quickly winced and scrapped the idea. The irritated voice of the other causing his gut to lurch in a nauseating way.

He was most certainly not going to be looking him in the eyes for a good while now.

He was starting to break through the surface though, right? Maybe he should just call it quits and admit that he can't help.

He couldn't just go back up again, he didn't think he could take the ice-cold, biting irritation again.

Remus sat, rolling the interactions over in his head.  _ Whoever said anything about a letter? _ A lightbulb sparked, setting an explosion through his body that jolted him up from his seat with a gasp.

"A letter! That's so simple! I don't have to face him again, and he doesn't have to feel as much pressure! I'm a fucking genius!" He yelled, pumping his fists into the air with triumphant gusto. 

He rushed over to his desk, brimming with excitement as he began to write.

In Remus's very distinct, messily scrawled printing, he began:

_ Sup Mr Scarface! (I haven't even thought to ask your name yet lmao) _

_ Listen up nerd! I  _ promise _ I'm not playing tricks on you when I say this _

_ You’re  _ always _ welcome to come in _

_ You could stay here for an hour or two if you ever need a friend. We can talk about the noise when you’re ready _

_ But… til then I’ll say it must have been the wind. _

_ Yours sincerely, annoying dude from yesterday ;) _

Remus let out a long, pleased sigh as he gave it a quick once-over. He saw many mistakes, but he gave them not even a second glance before he was already out of the door.

He was going to deliver this letter and it was going to be wonderful!

Remus shucked his jacket off and onto his coat-rack upon returning from work the following day. It had been a pretty good day today. No awful homophobes, that's for sure.

Turning his T.V. on for background noise, he moved over to his miniature kitchen. Distantly aware of a news reporter talking about some murder, he got started on his rice and gravy.

Perhaps 10 minutes passed by when he heard a gentle rapping on the front door.

Remus curiously strode over and opened his door, surprised to see the man from upstairs in front of him.

"Oh, wow. Hey there, dude! Didn't expect to actually see ya this soon!" Remus exclaims.

"I, uh, yeah…" the scarred man shifted in place for a few moments, burying his face into his sweater. "If the, uh, offer is still open, I’d love to have someone to talk to,” he mumbled through the thick fabric.

Remus stood and processed the words for a few seconds before grinning widely.

"Of course! Of course! Come on in, my man! Lunch will be done in a bit if you want some!”

The other smiled and shyly slunk into his apartment

"I’d love that.” He said. “Thank you.”

"Not a problem at all! My name's Remus by the way!" He excitedly extends a hand for the other to shake.

Said man looked at his hand for a moment or two before carefully clasping his own around it.

Even more carefully, his shy voice spilled a simple name. "...Janus."


End file.
